Steelswarm
"Steelswarm", known as "Inverz" (インヴェルズ Inveruzu) in the OCG, is an archetype of DARK Fiend-Type monsters with 0 DEF, except for "Steelswarm Gatekeeper", first released in Duel Terminal - Raid of the Inverz!!. "Steelswarm" is a sub-archetype of "Verz", and its members are supported by "Verz" support cards. Their team symbol is a black demon mask that also resembles a claw or beetle (being appropriate since all "Steelswarm" are insectoid in form) which is tattooed on to the bodies of all its members. According to promotional material for Duel Terminal - Judgment of Omega!!, they are enemies of all the other teams in the set. Demons that were sealed in the deepest abyss during the ancient times after losing their battle for control of the world against the "Vylon". After awakening from the chaos of the land, they began to invade the surface in order to regain their lost power. As their leader "Steelswarm Hercules" release his destructive shock-wave on the surface world, the light emitting from "Vylon Omega" prevents the attack of "Steelswarm Hercules" and turns any "Steelswarm" it reaches into smithereens and scatters them across the battle field. Playing style Their main strategy is to take advantage of Tribute Summoning, which their effects generally support or trigger upon. This is a similar structure to the Monarchs- the Steelswarm even have their own version of "Treeborn Frog" (similar to the Frog Monarchs). The non-tribute monsters usually help or support Tribute Summoning, such as being easy to summon, resistant to attacks or having effects that activate when they are Tributed. The main non-tribute monster of most decks is "Steelswarm Scout" which can Special Summon itself from the Graveyard each turn and be Tributed for another Steelswarm. All Tribute monsters (except "Steelswarm Longhorn") can activate their effect when they are Tribute Summoned and most of them activate their effects by paying 1000 Life Points, although there are some exceptions, such as "Caucastag's" no cost effect, "Hercules'" half Life Points cost and "Girastag's" effect that actually increases your Life Points. Usually, their effects will result in a partial or total field clearing, so they usually attack directly. Their first two support cards, "First Step Towards Infestation" and "Infestation Wave" return the selected monsters to the player's hand. This can be used to reactivate their effects that trigger when they are Tribute Summoned, as well as saving them from destruction effects. "Infestation Tool" can help you put "Scout" in your Graveyard and "Infestation Ripples" works like a non-limited "Monster Reborn" (although with a 500 Life Points cost). Useful cards Weaknesses The majority of the current "Steelswarm" monsters have 0 DEF. Merely putting them into Defense Position with cards such as "Level Limit - Area B" and "Book of Moon" along with destroying them in battle, especially with Piercing monsters can really mess up this archetype before "Steelswarm" can inflict any Life Point damage at all. As for the Defense Position dilemma, you can throw in a card like "Darkness Neosphere" to send "Steelswarm monsters to the Graveyard until you can get your "Steelswarm" cards in action as well as have fodder for DARK Attribute support cards. You can also use a combo of either "Gaap the Divine Soldier"/"Final Attack Orders" and "Astral Barrier" + "Spirit Barrier" to keep your "Steelswarm" cards alive and in Attack Position as well as safeguard your Life Points. In addition, "Forced Back" can cancel "Steelswarm" summons, "Intercept" can rob you of your Level 5/6 "Steelswarm" monsters, "Blast Held by a Tribute" can destroy "Steelswarm" monsters in Attack Position along with dealing Life Point damage to you and cards like "Mask of Restrict" and "Fog King" can lock down "Steelswarm" card effects by preventing Tribute Summons. Because of all this, it is imperative that you use basic Spell/Trap/Monster removal to destroy any cards that may fully disable the "Steelswarm" monsters. Due to "Scout" being a Dark type, a "Koa'ki Meiru Drago" (prevents LIGHT and DARK monsters from being special summoned) can be trouble due to the majority of the deck being DARK, which in turn will make it hard to create tributes for the decks stronger monsters. Blackwing - Jin the Rain Shadow can possibly prove problematic due to its effect to instantly destroy any monster it battles whose DEF is lower than its ATK. The only "Steelswarm" monster that can battle it without being destroyed is "Steelswarm Gatekeeper". Trivia * In a similar fashion to cards like "Gaap the Divine Soldier", while all "Steelswarm" monsters are Fiend-Type, they are insectoid in form. ** Their appearance in of itself is a homage to the Worms of Kamen Rider Kabuto (except for "Steelswarm Cell" which is a Zecter from the same series). ** Some of the "Steelswarm" look similar to Cell from the Dragon Ball series. * "Steelswarm" monsters and play style are a mix between Monarchs (tribute summon monsters whose effect triggers upon being summoned and using a Treeborn Frog type of monster) and Archfiends (Dark, Fiends that pay Life Points). * In the OCG, the name of "Steelswarm" monsters that are Level 5 or 6 starts with "M" (probably for 'M'ega), while those who are Level 7 or 8 starts with "G" (probably for 'G'iga). * All "Steelswarm" Tribute Summoned monsters have (Level × 200 ATK) + 1200 ATK = their original ATKs. * One thing to note in the "Steelswarm" Spell and Trap Cards is that they have a beneficial cost, except "Infestation Ripples", which allows them to be used well even if the effect is negated. * "Steelswarm" monsters and themes around infestation is also similar to Zerg from Starcraft. * Card's artwork of Steelswarm monsters looks like development stages of a beetle according to level from low to high, but the location of where Steelswarm Gatekeeper appears is debatable. The rest of the stages are: Steelswarm Cell -> Steelswarm Scout -> Steelswarm Genome -> Steelswarm Sentinel -> Steelswarm Caller -> Steelswarm Mantis -> Steelswarm Moth -> Steelswarm Girastag -> Steelswarm Caucastag -> Steelswarm Longhorn -> Steelswarm Hercules